Various lightweight laminated construction materials are known in the art. It has, however, been difficult to provide a reproducible textured finish on such construction materials, especially when they are designed for exterior applications such as siding on houses. More particularly, the provision of a lightweight laminated sheet of construction material having a reproducible stucco finish has not heretofore been considered practical or feasible.
The advantages, however, of such a lightweight, laminated construction material having a reproducible stucco-like finish are relatively evident. Providing stucco finishes on the exterior of buildings or houses has heretofore been a relatively expensive operation requiring extensive manual labor. Further, attempts to provide prefabricated panels having the desired finish have often resulted in materials which were not uniform and which did not match.
Accordingly, there has remained a substantial need for a strong lightweight material, having a stucco-like finish which can be duplicated exactly any desired number of times.
It is therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a rigid construction material having a reproducible textured surface with the appearance of stucco. It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a construction material which is lightweight, durable, and suitable for exterior applications. Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a glass core laminated construction material having a reproducible stucco finish and suitable for exterior applications which has both electrical and acoustic insulation properties as well as low linear thermal expansion. The attainment of these and other objectives through the practice of the present invention will, however, be more readily apparent from the description of the invention which follows.